Iowa City gives ‘green’ office park tax rebates

The Iowa City City Council Tuesday night OK'd a deal that gives the developer of an environmentally friendly business park up to $15.3 million in property tax rebates.

Moss Green Development Corp. will get the rebates annually for up to 20 years through tax increment financing, or TIF. That allows the company to receive some of the property tax revenue from the increased value of the redeveloped land.

Moss Green will receive the lesser of: 50 percent of the tax increment collected over 20 years, the actual cost of making the minimum improvements agreed to in the area, or $15.3 million, which is the estimated cost of those improvements.

The most notable of the improvements is the extension of Oakdale Boulevard.

The council's vote was 6-0, with Ross Wilburn absent.

Moss Green broke ground in June on 170-acre “green” office park northwest of the Interstate 80-Highway 1 interchange with plans to build office buildings, shops and housing that converge with trees, creeks, trails and recreational areas.